


A Hunter's Mystery

by Anixara



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)
Genre: Cursed Vaults (Harry Potter), Might not stay that way, More tags to be added, Multi, Nonbinary Character, So Far Canon Compliant, So far just for fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22903003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anixara/pseuds/Anixara
Summary: The year is 1984 and three young children have begun their Hogwarts journeys. Ari Hunter and their friends Sally Pendragon and Feather Ladere already had legacies to live up to, and that was before their brothers became involved in something called Cursed Vaults. Join Ari as they struggle with balancing everything going on in their life through their seven years at Hogwarts, dealing with life, love, curses, family, history, and secrets.





	1. Year 1 - We Just Got a Letter, Wonder Who It's From?

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something I'm making for fun, I'll update as I go but no real schedule going on really.

On a warm summer morning months after Ari Hunter had turned 11 years old, they woke to a soft tapping sound outside their bedroom window. Sitting up and putting on their glasses from their bedside, it took a second round of tapping for them to register what was wanting to be let in. Getting up and padding over to the window they opened the curtains and was greeted with the sight of a beautiful barn owl, holding a letter in it’s beak. Opening the window and stroking the feathered creature’s head gently, they plucked the letter from it’s beak and sat at their desk looking at the address written in green ink. Mx. A Hunter, Attic Bedroom, 9 Phoenix Row, Portree, Isle of Skye. They smiled, knowing exactly what this letter, written in delicate green ink on heavy parchment was. They turned over the letter and began delicately picking at the sealing wax in an attempt to remove the entire thing without ruining the pressed image of the Hogwarts emblem. Their brother Justin had done the same thing with his letter back when he had received it, and they had wanted to do the same, ever since they could remember. That stopped Ari for a minute, staring down at the seal and wondering if they genuinely wanted to do the same thing. Justin had been missing for over a year now. He should have started his seventh year just before their birthday back in September, along with the rest of his classmates. He should have graduated with his class this year, and should have spent the last few months back home getting Ari ready for their first year at Hogwarts. But that didn’t happen.  
Instead he and some of his friends went missing in the middle of their sixth year, just after turning 17. After being expelled. They felt tears build up in their eyes thinking about him again, before taking a breath and wiping their eyes. Enough of that, in a few months they would be going to Hogwarts! Then, they would finally be able to find out what had actually happened to their brother, and what those Cursed Vaults were that they had overheard him and his friends talking about. Shaking their head they went back to gently removing the wax, succeeding in preserving the impression and quite proud of that fact, before opening the letter to read it, happiness once again bubbling up. They were positive that all the negative talk surrounding their brother and his friends were all ridiculous balderdash, and they would say as much to anyone who asked.

Justin had started Hogwarts years ago, and became friends with a small group of boys, Jacob Ladere, Jarret Pendragon, and Duncan Ashe. Ari recalled fondly the letters he would write home talking about the strange and ridiculous things the group were up to. They actually kept all of them in a self made notebook in chronological order! The four boys were constantly being compared to another group of boys 6 years their senior, four Gryffindors who had seemingly banded together to mess with Slytherins, or at least that’s how it always sounded in the letters. This was something that troubled their brother and his friends, as Duncan and Jarret were both Slytherins themselves, while Jacob and Justin were a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw respectively. Being compared to the four bullying Gryffindors was “practically an insult” as Justin had written often. Of course over time, and with more letters those first two years, it seemed the bullies had mostly grown out of it, seeing as the leader of the group had actually been James Potter of all people. The picture that the near six years worth of letters painted was an interesting one to say the least, and Ari had eaten it up. Though… the last two years Justin had been at Hogwarts, there had been less and less actually said in the letters. Actually Justin had just gotten more and more distant as they had grown. Ari wanted to believe it was simply because of the distance during the school year, and the fact they were only together three months out of the year.

They were pulled from memories as a flurry of feathers came into their room. Shaking their head once again and looking at their desk, three owls had all come in one after another, screeching at each other and trying to find footing and room for each other, each holding some letters. Ari laughed softly to themself as they recognized at least two of the trio. To the left sat a grumpy looking Snowy owl, obviously displeased with being awake and far from home. Silver was the personal owl of Ari’s friend Feather Ladere, the younger sister of Jacob. On the right sat a beautiful Tawny owl, standing up straight and putting on an heir of regality, their grandmother’s owl Nellie. Finally standing in the middle was a Barn Owl, practically dancing in place as he looked around the room. It was the Pendragon family owl Twitter, holding gifts from their friend Sally and her mother Morgana. Ari had been introduced to Sally and Feather the summer after their brothers had started at Hogwarts, and the three had hit it off, despite all being so different from each other. They were all around the same age, and knew they would all be starting the same year. In fact they had a pretty good idea why these were here.

Ari gave each of the owls equal attention as well as owl treats from out of their desk drawer, smiling softly to themself. Owls were their favorite animal, and since they had been so SO good for their parents, despite the Justin debacle, Ari had hoped against hope that their parents would remember that all they wanted for their birthday, was to finally get their own owl. Unfortunately this had not been the case, as their birthday fell early in September, and their parents had seemed to forget all about it due to how upset they were over their brother. Ari had luckily decided not to expect anything after their brother and his friends had gone missing. Maybe when they went to Diagon Alley for school supplies they could buy one themself.

Opening the first letter, they were met with the excited scrawlings of Feather, words misspelled and ink splots everywhere as the young girl could obviously not contain her excitement at receiving her own Hogwarts letter. Ari laughed a little and took out her favorite quill, replying back with just as much excitement. They waved the letter in the air to dry the ink, then rolled it up and tied it with a light blue colored ribbon, handing the letter to Silver. “Here you are, hope you get some sleep when you get home.” They moved out of the way as the grump took off with a screech, chuckling before opening the two letters that had been attached to the Pendragon owl Twitter. The first was another excited letter from Sally, stating that she had already received a letter from Feather exclaiming the same thing, and that the two girls were waiting for their reply over whether they had been accepted as well. Ari vaguely wondered how long that owl had been tapping at their window before they woke up, rolling their eyes a little before opening the other letter from Morgana Pendragon, the matriarch of the family. It was an invitation for them to go to Diagon Alley with the Pendragons in late July, and the same invitation had been given to Feather. Ari smiled and wrote two letters back, one to Sally replying that yes, they had gotten their letter, and yes they couldn’t wait for their trio to get their wands from Olivander and start attending classes. The other letter they took more care with their penmanship, graciously accepting the invitation and expressing their excitement at finally attending Hogwarts. Once finished they gave the two letters the same treatment they had given Feather’s, same ribbon and all, and handed the two letters to Twitter. “There we go, don’t worry soon enough I’ll have an owl of my own to play messenger so I don’t keep using you.” They smiled and watched the owl preen a little, before he took off after Silver, leaving Ari with old Nellie. Getting a nipped finger for their trouble they opened the letter, reading over the congratulations of being accepted to Hogwarts, though there was no way for her to have known already. It was just assumed that Ari had gotten their Hogwarts letter it seemed, though really if they hadn’t it would have been quite odd. Replying back to their grandmother saying that they would make her proud and would definitely not follow in their brother’s footsteps, they handed the letter back to Nellie and sighed as they leaned against the desk, looking at their Hogwarts letter once more, taking time to read it over. Ari wasn’t stupid, they could already tell what Hogwarts had in store for themself and their friends. Every time they went in public in the wizarding world people were already comparing the trio to their brothers. The group were living in three large shadows that only got longer and darker as rumors continued to swarm the disappearance of the boys.

Recently people had started saying that the boys had left purposely to join the remaining forces of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. That was something that Ari could not possibly believe, not just their brother either, but Jacob nor Jarret would ever join with those dark forces. They had grown up with those boys, listened to their conversations and understood them. The group HATED bullies, hated anyone who saw themselves as “better than” and hated the idea of Blood Superiority. Ari remembered hearing Jarret talk about how stupid and ridiculous some of the older Slytherins had been acting during the war, complaining about them and utterly shocked over just how many were actively joining the forces of the Dark Lord. There was no way that the same boys who would actively talk against Death eaters would join them. It was ridiculous. It was impossible. It was one of the reasons Ari Feather and Sally had already decided they would try to find out the truth, they just had to be sneaky about it and not go running into danger like a group of Gryffindors.


	2. Year 1 - Diagon Alley, You'll Meet All Your Chums in the Diagon Alley

Flooing to Diagon Alley was always a special treat, but today felt even more so. The trio of 11 year olds walked along with their chaperone, each one holding their lists for school supplies that were needed. Morgana walked with them out of Gringotts and stopped, looking over her current charges as they looked back at her. “Alright kids, you all have your money?” Ari nodded their head giving a “Yes’m”, while Feather chirped up with “Yeees~” and Sally gave a respectful “Yes mom.”. “And you all know how to get to the Leaky Cauldron?” “Yes’m” “Yeeeees~” “Yes mom!” Morgana smiled and checked her bag and robes, making sure everything she had was in order, before taking out her wand and casting a few quick charms, if Ari had to guess they were probably some form of tracking charms. “Alright, I have some business to attend to, so we’ll all meet back at the Leaky at 1, agreed?” “Yes’m” “Yeeeeeees~” “We’ll be there.” With that Morgana nodded and turned around, walking down the street, possibly on her way to Knockturn Alley. “Be good, and behave!”  
Waving to her as she walked off, the three almost-first-years started walking on their own, making sure to stay together. “Where should we start? There’re so many things we need…” Ari was reading over the list again, having almost memorized the whole thing. Feather was walking in the middle, looking around the area surrounding them. “Well~. I’m biased to say we start with getting our books, though I’m not sure we’ll ever leave if we do that first~…” Ari looked up from their list and squinted at their smaller friend, who was grinning. “If that was a shot at how distracted I get reading, rude?” “Honestly~ It was more of a shot at both of us!” This lead to laughter from the three friends, continuing on their way to Flourish and Blotts in order to pick up their school books. Thankfully they were going early enough in the summer to avoid the rush of students trying to grab last minute books. Unfortunately after a good few minutes, the trio realized they had no idea where the bookstore actually was.  
“Ari, I thought you went to Flourish and Blotts all the time?” Sally was straining to look at the signs around them.  
“Well, yes, but my parents are the ones who would take me there, I never really paid attention to the how they got there.” Ari felt their face grow red realizing quickly they had essentially been the blind leading the blind. “I thought one of you knew where we were going?”  
“Well apparently not, did anyone pay attention to where we came from?” Feather did not even bother trying to get a look at anything, having no idea where they were. The silence that followed definitely answered her question, leading to three sighs as the group realized they were now lost in Diagon Alley. “Alright, let’s not panic. We just have to ask someone for directions.”  
“You three lost?” A voice called out from behind them, causing the three friends to turn. Standing there was a pair, a boy and a girl, although they looked similar to each other, and possibly were related. “Hi! I’m Rowan Khanna, this is my sister Willow.” Definitely related. “Are you all getting ready to start at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry too?” Ari laughed a little nervously. “Yeah, we are, though seems we got a bit lost actually… We were trying to find Flourish and Blotts to get our books?” The girl, Willow, laughed herself and gestured to right behind them. It seemed the trio had walked right past the building without even realizing it. “Ah, well then, now I just feel like an idiot. Ah where are my manners. I’m Ari Hunter, and these are my friends-” “Feather Ladere, pleased ta meet you~!” “Sally Pendragon, also feeling a little stupid about missing that.”  
“Happens to everyone, we’re always coming here to pick up something or other.” Willow waved off the awkwardness with a smile. “Well yes but Ari is here all the time too and should have known how to get here.” Sally teased a little nudging her friend, earning a huff and an eye roll. “I’m bad at directions! Give me a map or an aerial view and I could have figured it out, eventually”  
“Well, we already got our school supplies ages ago, we actually came here to try and pick up somethings that could set us apart.” Rowan chuckled a little, pushing up his glasses. “We each have our own goals though at least. I personally want to be Head Boy by our 7th year, and I want to be the youngest professor in Hogwarts history, and I plan on making that dream a reality.” Willow rolled her eyes at her brother. “I’m the one that wants to help our parents tree farm it seems, though I’m not that great with the actual farm work, I think with the right knowledge I could figure out how to make our farm produce the best wands and broomsticks.”  
“Sounds like you two have it figured out, well we should go get our books then.” Sally was about to turn to the bookstore when Willow called out “Wait a mo, actually maybe you lot could help us out with something. Like my brother said we were looking for things that could set us apart, something to maybe let others know that we’re smart but fun. We’re great with books and trees but absolute rubbish at fashion, what do you lot think?”  
Ari took a step back, not even bothering with answering that, since they had zero fashion sense. That was definitely something the other two were more equipped to handle, Ari just wanted to get their books in order so they could finally get to the most important part of the trip, finally getting their wands.  
Feather thought a bit, looking over the Khanna twins before snapping her fingers. “I’d say the best way to make a statement would be a smart scarf. Though since we don’t know what our houses are yet, I’d pick some neutral colors that won’t favor one house over the others. So avoid red yellow green or blue.” “Ah, that makes sense! Thanks mate” Rowan gave a slight wave, before dragging his sister off with him as they went to follow her advice.  
“Well they seemed pleasant, wonder if they’ll be in one of our houses” Ari themself was hoping to be placed in Ravenclaw like most of their family had been. Though apparently a lot of their family on their mother’s side had been in Slytherin as well. It took barely any time for the three friends to grab the books they needed, and a few they didn’t, paying for their books with the required sickles and knuts. After talking with a few other patrons of the shop, the trio were able to get directions to all of the other shops they needed to go to, getting their telescopes, cauldrons, potions ingredients which Ari bought double of as they were definitely most excited to be learning potions, and everything else. Soon they reached Madam Malkins, excited to be fitted into their school robes, running into the Khanna twins once again. “Well? What do you think?” The two had picked some… interesting scarfs to say for sure, Ari wasn’t sure if it was their lack of fashion or what but they thought the scarfs looked a tad silly. Apparently Feather had a different idea though because she immediately went off about how nice they looked and complimented them about something or other. Ari tuned out by then and started wacking Sally with their too long sleeves, grinning as the two started a silly slap war while Madam Malkin was off dealing with some other customers, only stopping when she came back and tittered on about having to fix the pins the two eleven year olds had dislodged in their fun.


	3. Year 1 - Hey, Mr. Ollivander, What Wand Are You Making Today?

The final stop of the day was Ollivanders, something they had been putting off until the end so they could have as much time as they needed for each to find their wands. Ari was a little nervous, wondering exactly what sort of wand they would end up getting, and what that could say about them. With befriending Rowan and Willow it was actually possible the two knew about wand lore, though the idea of learning and finding out what it really said about them were different. Entering the shop was not quite what Ari thought it would be like, the entire room felt ancient and full of dust, in fact Feather sneezed when the door closed behind them and kicked up some dust from the floor. It seemed none of the group wanted to be the first to call out into the quiet shop, the friends sharing looks with each other. Ari decided to for once be the one to speak up, though their voice came out quieter than intended.  
“Hello?” They made a face at how quiet they were, clearing their throat as they stepped closer and saying louder, “Mr. Ollivander? Hello?” That was better, strong voice, reach the back of the room like Justin used to encourage. A few noises came from the back of the shop as an almost ancient looking man came out of the back room, looking over the three children who’d entered his shop. “Yes yes, well you’ve all been expected, though not necessarily together. Oh yes I know who you are, each one…” Sally and Feather shared a look with each other as they stood behind Ari, before stepping up on either side. “All starting Hogwarts this year I see? Interesting yes…” Ollivander’s eyes wandered to Sally’s, lips quirking up slightly. “I recall your mother’s wand when she first walked in here, yes… Wood from the apple trees of Avalon itself, and the heartstring of an ancient welsh green, quite an exquisite match, practically leapt off the shelf when she came near. And your brother, English Oak, phoenix feather and supple… Took a bit of time coming to that one I must say. And you Miss Hunter, pear wood and Hebridean dragon heartstring, 14 ¼ and pliant, such a quiet boy when he first walked in here…” Ari felt uncomfortable at hearing him talk about their brothers, the group once more exchanging glances with each other as Ollivander turned his back to them. “And Mr. Ladere’s wand as well, I remember every wand I’ve ever sold you know. Maple, dragon heartstring core, ten inches. A fine wand indeed… Well, let’s see what’s in store for you now.”  
The group were quite unsure of who he was actually talking to, watching as the enchanted tape measure came down and started flying around, repeating somewhat what had happened at Madam Malkins just a bit earlier that day. It seemed to be measuring all three of them. “Wand hand dears?” The group watched as the old man quickly ran around the different shelves, climbing up and down the ladder and grabbing at different boxes. “Right?” “Right” “Same, all right handed here” They were glancing at each other, still wondering which of them he was talking to. Then suddenly they were all being handed different wands, Ollivander spouting out what each one was as he handed them out. It felt like a whirlwind of chaos as papers started flying about the entire store, flames bursting out of different areas, small ink pots exploding and colorful sparks flying about. Ari was starting to feel a headache as different pieces of would were placed in their hand, sometimes dropping them as it felt like a shock came, or a stab of cold or heat. Feather was the first to find a match, an excited call of “Red Oak, dragon heartstring core 10 ¼ inches, and… slightly yielding, yes excellent Miss Ladere!”. Feather held her wand close as she turned to watch her friends as they both continued on. Ari couldn’t help feel a little jealous, but chose to not focus on that, knowing it was just a matter of time. One of these wands would pick them, even if it took a while. That was why they chose to come here last after all!  
It was ten minutes later that they waved another wand in hand, suddenly feeling a bright cooling effect over themself, feeling like their heart was lighter even as bright blue, teal, and lavender sparks swirled around them. “Larch wood with unicorn hair core! My my 14 inches and… surprisingly swishy I must say Miss Hunter” Ari chose not to correct the man, not caring much what pronoun was used by others. The last of the group was Sally, and judging by her red face she seemed embarrassed by this. “You know it took Justin almost two hours to find his wand” Ari casually mentioned to Feather, who caught on right away and nodded sagely. “You know~ Jacob was similar, took about an hour I think if I remember right~” Sally snorted and rolled her eyes, looking at her friends with a small smirk. “I know what you’re doing. Stop that.” Ollivander meanwhile seemed to have taken these casual remarks to heart himself, as he started grabbing other wands from farther back in the shop. “Ashe and phoenix? No, maybe Ebony and dragon? Definitely not, ah! Perhaps beechwood and unicorn hair?” Ari and Feather watched as the wands started forming an impressive looking pile on the floor, feeling magic thrumming around them practically as Ollivander started looking more and more perplexed. “Well, now then… Perhaps we’re looking too recent, yes… your mother’s wand was made from quite ancient products truly, and even your brother’s wand itself was also made quite a while ago… perhaps…. Yes…” He went farther back into the shop, grabbing a few more boxes that themselves looked practically ancient. “Yes old magic runs in your veins Miss Pendragon, older than Hogwarts itself it seems…” Opening one of the boxes an exquisite yet simple wand was carefully taken out. Ari thought it looked to be made of bone more than wood. “This was made quite a long while ago… yew wood, using the pelt of a selkie…” Sally looked a tad disturbed as she took the wand, a flash of red light coming from the tip as Sally dropped it right back onto the counter shaking her hand. “Yes I thought so, just checking really but definitely not.” Ollivander gingerly placed it back in it’s box, opening the next one and pulling out an equally interesting wand. “Black poplar, made with an Occamy feather core…” Ari was curious now, two wands in a row that didn’t use the usual Ollivander cores? Everyone knew which cores he favored… but then again, these wands were all different than any they had seen in the store so far, they seemed… older. Sally picked up the wand, waving it a little and… nothing, not even a spark. “Mmm, perhaps not… well, this one…-“ Ollivander returned the poplar to it’s box, opening the third box now, the box itself made of ornate looking wood, and withdrawing a pale pink wand, it’s handle decorated in what looked to be tiny carved flowers. Looking at Sally’s face Ari could tell she was hoping for it to be this one, if her held breath and look of awe meant anything. “-this one has been here for… goodness since before my own father took over honestly. Though it’s to be expected really, dogwood you see, 11 ½ inches though surprisingly supple considering if I must say, but truly unusual is it’s fairy wing core. Not known for making the most powerful of wands I’m afraid, which is why we stopped using it. However in the right hands, with the right magic… well some nice surprises have been known to occur.” He handed the wand to Sally, holding his own breath now as she gave it a wave. Instantly a soft gentle breeze picked up around her, a soft floral scent of roses filling the air as Ari could swear she heard gentle bells tinkling away as if in the distance. “Well, would you look at that!” Ollivander clapped his hands with a seemingly excited laugh. “A home at last it seems! Now then seven galleons for each of these wands ladies, and let’s hope none of them meet the same fate as your brothers’, such a shame truly…” The three children placed their galleons on the counter, grabbing their respected boxes, though before Ari could stop themself they looked at the wand pile that had formed due to their trip. “Mr. Ollivander sir would you like help putting these all back in their boxes?” This earned a startled laugh from the old man, who took out his own wand then and whispered a few words softly as the wands started to put themselves away. “I appreciate the thought, but rest assured I have everything handled. You girls enjoy Hogwarts now, and bring out the potentials of your wands! I hope to hear of great things from this group in the future!”  
Walking out of the store, Feather stopped and gave a huff, looking at Sally. “Well! We got boring old normal Ollivander wands, meanwhile look at you with your fancy ancient wand!” She couldn’t even make it half way through her sentence before grinning, obviously not upset at all, and really more impressed and excited than anything. “Right? Dogwood and fairy wing? I’ve never heard of that before!” Ari laughed a little, holding their own Larch wand and smiling at it, running their fingers along the whole thing. They loved their wand really, it just felt RIGHT in their hand, feeling well warn already, if not a little large for their hand right now. But they were only 11 after all, soon to be 12. They had some growing to do. Sally looked embarrassed and held up her wand. “Is it sad the only reason I REALLY wanted it was because it’s pink?” She giggled a little, causing her friends to laugh too, before they were interrupted by a dual gasp. “Is that a dogwood wand?!” “And a red oak?” The trio turned to see, once again the Khanna twins. “We just keep bumping into each other today don’t we?” Ari laughed a little, waving at the two. “Rowan! Willow! I figured you two would know about these, I got a larch wand myself.” They held up their own wand now, smiling as the twins looked over each of their wands. While Rowan and Willow were looking over the wands, Feather was once again complimenting them on the scarves they had bought. Ari personally thought they looked a little ridiculous, but then again they weren’t big on wearing scarves themself. “They… suit you, both of you really. You’ll look like the smartest first years at Hogwarts I think.” Feather and Sally seemed to give Ari knowing looks, causing them to blush and resist rolling their eyes. “Aw thank you!” Willow smiled. “It was your suggestion Feather, I think Ro and I will be coming to you for all our fashion advice from now on!” “Awww~” The shortest member of their group just giggled and waved her hand. “Happy to help, it’s a fun hobby of mine really.” “That’s nice, our hobbies… well more like our hobby is reading, it’s really the thing we’re best at.” “More like it’s really the only thing we do, since we don’t have many friends really…” Well that’s not completely awkward… Feather however jumped right on that opening. “Well we can all be friends!” The twins looked surprised at that, looking at each other perplexed before looking at the trio. “Really? You don’t think we’re well… weird?” Rowan looked a little nervous, Willow rubbing the back of her head and biting her lip. “People usually think we’re too weird…” Ari snorted and put their hands in their pockets. “Well only the best people are you know!” “Yeah, people say the same thing about us!~” Feather giggled a little. Once again that earned a perplexed look from the Khannas. “Why would anyone say that about you folks?” A look was shared by the trio, before looking at Rowan and Willow. “Our brothers were Jarret Pendragon, Justin Hunter, and Jacob Ladere.”  
The twins gaped at the trio. Rowan smacked himself in the forehead. “Of course! Pendragon Hunter and Ladere! I should have recognized your last names earlier, your brothers were all over the papers a year or so ago, all about those rumored Cursed Vaults!” Ari felt their jaw set a bit. “That’s right, the Cursed Vaults were a big deal, but now everyone’s going to be bugging us about what happened to our brothers… When really there are plenty of reasons we’re already weird!” They cracked a smile at that, trying to play it off. Sally nodded her head, snorting a little. “Exactly! We’re not our brothers, we’re our own special brands of strange you know?” This earned some laughter from the twins, both seeming to relax due to how nonchalant the group was behaving. “Well then, I suppose we’ll just have to be weird together!” Willow smiled, nudging her brother who smiled a little himself. “Yeah, if anyone tries to mess with you guys because of you brothers… well what would you want us to do?” “… personally I don’t want a lot of attention really” Ari bit the inside of their bottom lip a little, looking away. Sally nodded and gestured to Ari. “Same really, honestly I just want to enjoy my time at Hogwarts as a normal Student, I already have the whole… related to Merlin thing going on you know?” Feather thought a bit, before setting her hands on her hips. “Honestly, if it’s me? Follow my lead, if I need help I’ll let you know” “Got it. Oh man I can’t wait to start Hogwarts….” Ari looked at the time and winced. “Oh geez, hey guys we need to meet Sally’s mom at the Leaky Cauldron! We’re almost late!” “Whoopsie~ Alright Rowan, Willow, we’ll see you at Hogwarts!"


	4. Year 1 - Cause That's the Way Things Happen on the Hogwarts Express

“I just can’t trust Bertie Botts anymore, once you have the vomit flavor they’re all ruined, trust me.” “I’ll accept that, muggle jellybeans have it right with only Licorice being the bad flavor” “Ugh, licorice…” All three soon to be first years made faces at the name of the dreaded candy as they snacked away on what they had just gotten from the trolley. It seemed lucky that they had found an empty compartment on the train so they could all sit together, though with how small they were probably five more first years could be seated comfortably on the benches and there still be enough room to move around. Sally, who had spoken first, took a bite of her chocolate cauldron, leaning back in her seat while kicking her legs slightly. “So my mum told me that there’s no excuse if we don’t do well in potions this year, even though the professor that replaced Slughorn is supposedly competent.” Ari rose their eyebrows, swallowing a mouthful of fizzing whizbees and enjoying the floating with a giggle before answering. “You mean you didn’t hear? Justin told me during his fifth year it was Severus Snape who took over for old Sluggy in potions, and even as head of Slytherin.” Feather looked up from where she had been dubiously looking at a package of chocolate frogs. “You’re kidding? Wasn’t he only like, five years older than them?” “Literally five years older! He’s probably the youngest professor at Hogwarts in a long while actually if you think about it, and became the head of house to boot!” Sally shook her head, giving a groan. “Fantastic, and me most likely a Slytherin, he’s probably one of those “no nonsense” types. I was so hoping to have an easy going head of house…” Feather giggled a little. “You mean like Professor Sprout for Hufflepuff?~” “Oh come on, we don’t REALLY know what houses we’ll be placed in you know…” Ari was met with dual stares, before they snickered and sat back. “Or we just accept what we know as fact and move on.” This earned some laughter as their train car was opened, before someone tripped into the room, literally stumbling through the door as the train gave a significant jostle.   
“Bloody hell… Oh, uh….” The young blonde girl looking at her accidental audience with bright red cheeks, before giving off an obviously fake giant grin and waving, leaning back against the door, almost missing it as she had apparently misjudged the distance backwards and trying to look casual as she almost fell back, again. “Wotcher! I’m Nymphadora Tonks, but just call me Tonks.” The three occupants of the compartment shared looks, before each mumbling a greeting. Feather leaned over a little and rose her eyebrow seeing the girl’s trunk behind her. “Still looking for somewhere to sit?” “Oh, well, yes and no. I had somewhere, but they really had NO sense of humor… Sorta cut and run if ya catch my meaning.” Ari sniffed the air and rose an eyebrow. “Prank gone awry then? You’re welcome to sit with us, we were just talking about what houses we think we’ll be getting into.” Sally scoot over on her bench to make room for the newcomer, smiling a little as Tonks pushed her trunk farther into the compartment before plopping down. “Ah, right, the sorting…” Feather leaned forward, elbows on her knees as she took in the grimace that had appeared on her face. “Feeling nervous about that are you then? There’s no need to worry about the sorting you know~ We all get sent to where we best fit.” “Mmm, I suppose. It’s just… Well see my da’s a proud Hufflepuff, and my mum was a… a Slytherin, but she’s not like, a NORMAL Slytherin you know? I mean-“ Sally snorted and bumped Tonks’ shoulder. “Oh stop that. House rivalry is stupid, my family’s a long line of both Slytherin’s and Gryffindors on my mum’s side. She’s a Slytherin and my da’s a muggle!”  
Tonks seemed to relax at that, smiling with a laugh. “Oh good, you lot aren’t part of those prejudice jerks then?” “Only prejudice we have are against bullies and bigotry in this compartment. Long as your pranks remain funny and harmless you’re welcome here.” Ari grinned, offering some of the candy to Tonks. “Feel like there’s a story there, but I can promise that my pranks are just meant for a laugh.” The trio looked at each other, before shrugging. “Our brothers used to get picked on by a group of Gryffindors when they were firsties. Mine especially cause he was in Slytherin like our mum. They never even bothered finding out about our family and were just rude on the basis he was a Slytherin. Worst part is they called their bullying “pranking” as if that made it okay. I don’t REALLY know what went on during those years but Ari here’s brother sent pretty detailed letters home.” Ari cut into Sally’s talk adding in, “He thought it’d be a good way to help give me a guideline for when I went to Hogwarts myself. Personally I think he used it as an excuse to write a diary, but I saved every letter and have them all sorted out into a book so I can look back at them.” “Swot” Feather giggled a little shaking her head. “Anyway~ That’s why we specify the harmless part. Having a laugh is all well and good, but making fun of people is sort of rude.” “What’s your stand on impressions then? I’m a master of impressions.” Ari hummed a little. “I suppose if it’s tasteful, what do you mean exactly by impressions?” With a grin Tonks seemed to screw up her face, and suddenly her hair changed to Sally’s bright red while her face morphed to look just like the girl she was sitting next to, until there appeared to be identical twins sitting on the bench. “Tada!”   
“WICKED!” “Woah!” “That’s so weird, amazing, but weird.” Ari and Feather looked between the two girls, while Sally stared at essentially a mirror of herself, not really sure what to make of it. “You’re a metamorphmagus! That’s so rare, are you related to the Blacks then?” Ari was fascinated, watching as Tonks turned back to her, assumed, usual appearance, though her hair was now a pale pink color. “Um, yeah, mum was disowned for marrying my da. He’s a muggleborn, so, not proper and all that rubbish. One reason I don’t really want to be in Slytherin you know?” Sally sighed and set her head back. “Pureblood nonsense gives Slytherin a terribly bad name, honestly…” “So do you want to be a Hufflepuff then? I could use a friend in house!” Feather grinned at the girl across from her. “Common room right by the kitchens, respects loyalty and hard work~” “Known to be down to fist fight anyone who insults their friends” Ari grinned a little nudging the girl next to them, shaking their head. “Honestly Feath’, Nymphadora here will go to whatever house she belongs.” “Ah ah, PLEASE don’t call me Nymphadora. I would really rather just be called Tonks.” “Aye, right, sorry, Tonks then. No offense meant.”   
Tonks scratched her nose, giving a shrug in attempted nonchalance. “No problem, just remember next time. Nymphadora just sounds so… Ugh. Only my mum really calls me that.” The other three laughed somewhat at that, Ari wincing in sympathy. “It is a mouthful, my mum’s name is Aquarius though so honestly I get the having weird names thing. S’why she gave my brother and I much simpler names” “Oooh, we somewhat related then? Name like that is just screaming Black.” She grinned, trying to make a joke of it, but Ari hummed and gave a nervous smile. “Distant at least, my Gram’s da was disowned for supporting muggles. If I’ve said it once I’ll say it again, Pureblood family trees are a Celtic knots. Everyone’s related.” This earned a snorting laugh from Tonks. “Too true mate!”  
Similar easy conversations were had between the four first years, talk of favorite quidditch teams and which subject they were looking forward to. Ari ended up falling asleep to the gentle rock of the train as it went down the tracks, having some very nice dreams about how their Hogwarts experience will be. They already made a new friend in Tonks, and even if they weren’t put in the same house Ari was sure everything was going to be okay. Before they knew it, Feather was shaking their shoulder lightly and the four were getting dressed in their new robes. It was finally time, they had made it to Hogwarts.


	5. Year 1 - Bold Gryffindor from Wild Moore, Fair Ravenclaw from Glen, Sweet Hufflepuff from Valley Broad, Shrewd Slytherin from Fen

Ari stood in the middle of what felt like a sea of other children, glad to be close to their friends as the very strict teacher called Professor McGonagall explained the rules. Looking around at the other children they took stock in who would be in their year. A few of them were standing straight backed and proud, almost looking own their noses at their fellow classmates, though it seemed more out of practice than actual contempt. Thinking about their own Grammy and how she held herself, they had a good idea that these were children with at least one pureblood parent who actually tried teaching them to be “proper”. Upon looking at these children, they accidentally locked eyes with one of the boys. Ari was startled at seeing his bright green eyes, giving a small smile and slight wave. The boy almost raised his hand in reply, before seeming to think better of it and simply turned away looking back at the teacher. Ari frowned at that, lowering their hand and trying to listen themself.

Well that was just rude, they thought, after all they were just trying to be friendly to the boy. Though, maybe he didn’t know they were waving at him? How many times had that happened to them, where they thought someone was waving at them, only to find out there was another person behind them who the first person was waving at. It was very embarrassing when that happened, and they could completely understand the reaction in that case. Yes that was probably it, the green-eyed-boy probably thought he would look like a fool if he waved back at a random child he didn’t know. He probably already knew a few of the others already too considering how close pureblooded families tried to be, creating alliances and such at young ages.

Looking at the other children around them, Ari found themself fascinated by how interesting some of them were. There were the Khanna twins gesturing to each other in a way only they understood, and Tonks had started up a quiet conversation with a little blonde girl who was looking around almost bursting with excitement. There was a young girl with snow white hair looking around at everyone as if terrified, and when blue eyes locked with blue her face seemed to pale to the same color, before flashing to a bright pink as she turned away hiding behind her hair. Next to her was a blond haired boy who looked to be as terrified if not more so as he looked to be almost vibrating in place, staring almost open mouthed at the moving portraits around them. He was most likely a muggleborn then, new to everything, though he looked more scared then excited. Maybe they could lend him a few of their favorite muggle storybooks about “ordinary children discover extraordinary circumstances” to help him? After all finding out you’re a wizard must be pretty exhilarating for muggleborn children. Standing on the other side of him was a boy who looked to be covered in freckles with bright orange hair. He seemed to be almost bouncing in place as he looked around, catching their eye and giving a small grin. Ari replied with a smirk back and continued their observations. It seemed they weren’t the only one doing so, as they noted another boy who appeared to be taking in everyone with a critical eye. He looked a little like a bird, Ari thought randomly.

Before they had time to think about the others, suddenly the door was open and the Great Hall was looming before them. What had McGonagall been saying? What was happening? Ari felt a moment of panic before getting bumped in the arm and looking to their right. Sally gave them a smile and gestured with her eyes to just follow the crowd. Ari was thankful their friends knew how often they got lost in thought. “She’s calling us up by name, just relax, we’re all nervous.” Ari snorted a little and followed the crowd as they all stood up in front of all of the other students. Looking up at the table with the professors they felt even more nervous, stomach squirming. At one end of the table was a teacher that apparently took it as a personal challenge to look as unapproachable as possible, practically sneering at the group of adolescents in front of him. He seemed almost familiar however as Ari racked their brain, before putting a name to the frown. Impossibly black eyes with inky black hair hanging about his face like a curtain. Ari had thought this description had just been their brother waxing poetic, but no, that exactly described one Severus Snape, the student turned professor. Ari practically beamed and gave the professor a wave, which apparently had not been expected considering his frown quickly turned quizzical. No doubt he had no idea who they were, and considering he had looked at the least apathetic to the children walking in he was probably not at all expecting anyone to look happy to see him. Ari quickly whispered to the others their discovery, and felt almost delighted in how even more confused he looked when the other two also gave their own happy waves.

So the singing hat was definitely not what they had expected. They were probably going to be humming that tune for a week, if not possibly remembering the whole song. “Ali, Badeea” was called up first, causing Ari to wonder if Professor McGonagall had asked for the correct pronunciation of the name before calling it. After all what if someone had a name like **Ù** isdean? The girl was put in Ravenclaw, followed by a boy in Hufflepuff and “Copper, Ben”, the scared possibly-muggleborn sitting on stage for a good amount of time before being put in Gryffindor. That was a little amusing, the house of the brave for someone who looked so scared, though really who can judge anyone or being scared of sitting up in front of everyone. A few students later one “Egwu, Andre” became the second Ravenclaw, and Ari could swear they saw some Portree purple under his robes as the boy walked to the tables, giving them a wink before sitting down. Ari felt their cheeks heat up a little and turned quickly back to the front. “Haywood, Penny” was called up next, the blonde who had been talking to Tonks, and she was placed as the second Hufflepuff. “Hunter, Ari” was called next and… oh wait.

It was as if their heartbeat suddenly took over their mind as the “thump-thump” echoed in their ears. Feeling two pairs of hands push them gently they hurried up to the stool, sitting down in front of everyone. Whispers about “Hunter” spread across the Ravenclaw table, as well as the others it seemed. Well that was reassuring, thank you Justin for leaving behind this legacy. Their face was bright red as the hat was placed over their eyes, blocking the Hall from sight. Well that felt better at least. - _So many expectations and thoughts in this head I see._ \- Ari jumped a little as a voice seemed to echo in their head, feeling mildly perturbed at how it seemed to quiet their thoughts. - _Yes yes, you already heard me sing, you should know I’m no mere headpiece after all_ \- Ari wasn’t sure whether to think or talk out loud, but not wanting others to over hear they kept it in their own head. ‘ _I never thought you were, I’m just a little overwhelmed is all really, just place me where you think is best._ ’ The hat seemed to hum as it sat there. - _No need for that, we’ll find where you belong shortly. You seem to have plenty of traits for each house really. Loyalty to your friends is strong, however hardwork seems a foreign concept, no no don’t think of it like that, it’s not an insult, just that it seems more things come easily to you academically. A blessing and a curse as you’ll discover. Brave in a sense, though you don’t seem to think so, your mind often fantasizes about adventures and such I see, though they seem to remain thoughts… so many thoughts in this head, so loud. Could be a Slytherin, certainly have the cunning for it, yes. Though ambition… that would be pushing it really… No no, you have your heart set on one house, I can tell that plain as anything. You really could go anywhere if you wanted, but the basis of all comes back to your roots. Roots that run deeper than you know. It was obvious from the beginning that you belong in…_ \- “Ravenclaw!”


End file.
